Yearly Archives: 2018

Are You a Servant of God?

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle…” (Titus 1:1)

Did you ever wonder why Paul, anapostle, began his epistle to Titus by first referring to himself as a servant, the Bible word for a slave? Well, it helps to learn why the apostle opened two of his other epistles this way.

First, he identified himself as a servant to the Romans (Rom. 1:1) because Rome was the capital city of the Roman Empire, and the citizens of Rome were used to owning slaves, not being slaves.  Paul himself had been born with all the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship (Acts 22:25-28), yet he was humbly willing to acknowledge that he was a servant of God.  So in writing the saints in Rome, the apostle introduced himself as a servant to remind them that they too might be free citizens, but that “he that is called in the Lord…being free, is Christ’s servant” (I Cor. 7:22).

Paul also introduced himself as a servant to the Philippians, where two of the ladies were feuding (Phil. 4:2), and everyone in the church was taking sides.  When they received Paul’s letter, they probably thought that he was going to take a side in their squabble and settle it in so doing.  But rather than siding with either faction, he made it clear that he was writing to them “all” (1:1), praying for them “all” (1:4), thought highly of them “all” (1:7), longed after them “all” (1:8), rejoiced with them “all” (2:17), and wished them “all” well (4:23).  His marked and repeated use of the word all in this epistle shows that he refused to take sides in their feud.  Instead, he told them to get on the Lord’s side, saying,

“…be likeminded…being…of one mind…let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God…took upon Him the form of a servant…” (Phil. 2:2-7).

When two believers are not of one mind, the only way they can become of one mind is to let the mind of Christ govern their lives—the Christ who “took upon Him the form of a servant.”  If you have a dispute with a brother in Christ, I can tell you whose side Paul would be on.  He’d be on the side of whoever was willing to be the other one’s servant.  Lowliness like that will solve any and all disputes, but it is high spiritual ground.  But then, isn’t that what you have in mind when you sing “Lord plant my feet on higher ground?”

Finally, the reason Paul called himself a servant in addressing Titus was because Titus was an intimidating man (II Cor. 7:15).  Spiritual leaders like that sometimes need to be reminded that the strongest leaders of men are nothing more than servants of God.  Titus might have been a tough man, but that’s not what made him fit to pastor a church.  His fitness was found in his willingness to be a servant of God and lead His people in serving Him by example, and not by force (cf. I Peter 5:3).  I’ve heard horror stories of pastors who act like little Napoleons—and some of you have lived such horror stories.  Men like that would do well to remember the humility Paul displayed when he referred to himself as a servant, and stop dominating the faith of God’s people (II Cor. 1:22), and “by love serve one another” instead (Gal. 5:13).

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Two Minutes with the Bible lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

Philemon’s Return Policy – Philemon 16-17

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Summary:

Paul wasn’t saying Onesimus wasn’t a slave anymore just because he got saved (v. 16).  Salvation doesn’t deliver you from your problems, it helps you accept them, knowing God can use you more powerfully in your problems than He can if He delivers you from them because His power is made perfect in your weakness (II Cor. 12:7-9).  Paul was saying Philemon shouldn’t receive him as a slave, but as a brother.  Like how Paul’s words were the words of a man, but the Thessalonians didn’t receive them that way (I Th. 2:13).  He was a man, but the Galatians didn’t receive him that way (Gal. 4:14).  This illustrates how God receives us not as sin-ners but as saints, and expects us to receive others that way.

How far “above” a servant should Philemon receive him (v. 16)?  The Lord told the 12 they were no longer servants but friends, after He told them all that the Father had told Him (John 15:15).  A friend is above a servant.  But after He died and rose again He called them brethren because they were one with Him (Heb. 2:11).  So are we, so we should receive one another as a brother, as Paul told Philemon.

When Paul told Philemon to receive Onesimus as a “beloved” brother (v. 16), God said that Christ is His beloved (Mt. 3:16,17), so he should receive him as Christ, since he was now “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6).  God later repeated that Christ was His beloved when they didn’t “hear” Him (Mt. 17:5) say He had to die (16:21,22).  So to receive Onesimus as “beloved” means to hear what Christ says in Colossians 3:11-13, where He says that we are His beloved, and so should forgive others as He forgave us.

Onesimus was “special” to Paul because he led him to the Lord, even though they didn’t have much time together.  Paul probably wasted no time teaching him to obey his master (Col. 3:22) and sent him back to Philemon for further Bible teaching.  But Onesimus was “more” (v. 16) special to Philemon for he had known him a long time.  And he would be special to him “in the flesh” (v. 16) since saved servants were often better servants than unsaved servants.  And since Philemon had probably witnessed to Onesimus, and prayed for him, and taught him the Scriptures in their home church, he was also special to him “in the Lord.”

A “partner” (Philemon 1:17) is someone who’s part owner in a business.  Three of the apostles were partners in a fishing business (Luke 5:6-10).  Philemon considered Paul his partner in the ministry, as Paul considered Titus (I Cor. 8:23). Paul’s not pulling rank by asking as an apostle (cf. 1:10), but as a co-worker in the ministry.

But if Philemon is a book that illustrates Pauline doctrine rather than teaching it, what is being illustrated here?  It is illustrating that you should receive others in a forgiving way because Paul is your partner in the ministry.  What do I mean by that?

Consider that after James and John and Peter left their fishing partnership, they became partners in the ministry.  The problem with most Christians today is that they think they are part of that partnership instead of being partners with Paul in the ministry!  That means they are fishing for men with the wrong net, the net of the kingdom gospel (John 20:31).  Some are even using the net of the Law and partnering with Moses, saying you have to keep the Sabbath and the rest of the Law to be saved.

Now when you tell people you’re partnering with Paul they say you should be partnering with Christ.  But this epistle is all about Paul giving Philemon reasons why he should forgive his runaway slave.  The Lord would say to forgive him to be forgiven by God (Mt. 6:14).We must be Paul’s part-ner in this, not the Lord’s in His earthly ministry, for Paul says we should forgive because we are forgiven (Eph. 4:32).

Even the “return policy” of the 12 was different.  In saying men should forgive others seventy times seven times (Mt. 18:21,22), the Lord was telling them they had to keep forgiving till the end of Israel’s next period of 490 years (cf. Dn. 9:24) which will end in the Tribulation.  After that, they won’t need to forgive others since all their persecutors will die at Armageddon.  Only Paul’s return policy says to allow others to return forever and keep forgiving them!

The Servant of God For Today

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“Paul, a servant of God…” (Titus 1:1).

It’s interesting that Paul would call himself a “servant of God,” for that exact phrase is only used four times earlier in the Bible, and each time it was used of Moses (I Chron. 6:49; 24:9; Neh. 10:29; Dan. 9:11).  So while all believers should try to serve God, in using that exact phrase, Paul was saying that he was the servant of God for us Gentiles (Rom. 11:13), just as Moses was the servant of God to the people of Israel.

When I was a young man, the CBS affiliate in Chicago promoted itself as “the ten o’clock news.”  Of course, those who preferred to watch the news on other channels would have disputed that claim!  But when Miriam disputed Moses’ claim to being the servant of God to the Jews, insisting that she had as much authority in Israel as he had, she was stricken with leprosy (Num. 12:2-10).  In light of the severity of that judgment, anyone today claiming to be a servant of God on a level with the apostle Paul should be thankful we live in the dispensation of grace!  This would include any man who calls himself a prophet, for prophets in the Bible were men who could “prophesy” and speak the very Word of God (cf. Ezek. 37:4).

But while most Christians know better than to think that they are as important as Paul, most of them believe that the other apostles in the Bible were of equal importance with him.  After all, James also calls himself a “servant of God” (James 1:1a).  But, like Moses, James was the servant of God to the twelve tribes of Israel (James 1:1b), while Paul was sent to us Gentiles (Acts 22:21; 26:17,18; Gal. 1:16; 2:2,7; Eph. 3:8; I Tim. 2:7; II Tim. 1:11).

And that word “Gentiles” includes everyone living in “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2), for now that Israel has lost her favored nation status with God, she is just another one of the nations.  That means “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13) is the apostle of the Jews as well, and that makes Paul more important to people living today than Moses or James or any of the other New Testament writers.

We might compare how each of the 50 governors in the United States is of equal authority in our country, but you must look to the governor of your state to learn the rules and regulations that have a direct bearing on your life.  In the same way, all of the Bible writers are of equal authority in Scripture, but as Gentiles living in “the dispensation of the grace of God” we must all look to the writings of the man who was appointed to be “the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles” (Rom. 15:16) to learn the things that have a direct bearing on our lives, the Apostle Paul.

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Two Minutes with the Bible lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

The Apostle Paul’s Retainer – Philemon 13-15

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Summary:

To “retain” something (v. 13) means to keep possession of it (Job 2:9).  Before returning Philemon’s runaway slave, Paul thought about retaining him (v. 13) to “minster” unto him in prison.  In those days, prisoners were literally fed bread and water (I Ki. 22:27), but in some cases they were allowed friends or servants to “minister” to them (cf. Mt. 25:43,44).

The Book of Philemon doesn’t teach Pauline doctrine, it illustrates them.  When Paul says he thought of keeping Onesimus in Philemon’s stead, that illustrates how we are here “in Christ’s stead” (II Cor. 5:20).  That means we should be beseeching sinners to be reconciled to God as He would.

Slaves were a man’s possession, however (cf. Lev. 25:45,46), so Paul wouldn’t keep him without Philemon’s permission (Phile. 1:14).  He told him he would “benefit” for it at the Judgment Seat of Christ if he let him use his possession, as people today will benefit for letting missionaries use their cars, etc.  But he explained he’d benefit more if he gave Paul use of his possession “willingly” and not “of necessity.”  This illustrates how God will someday reward all of the money we possess that we give to the Lord, but we’ll benefit more at the Judgment Seat of we give in a “willing” way (II Cor. 8:12) and not “of necessity” (II Cor. 9:7).

If Philemon had retained Onesimus, he could only have had him as a slave until he died.  But now that Paul was retaining him after leading him to the Lord, Philemon could have him back as a brother for all eternity (Phile. 1:15,16).

When Paul says Onesimus departed “for a season” (v. 15), that should remind you of the Jew who was blinded for a season when he tried to keep Paul from giving a Gentile the gospel (Acts 13:11).

So when Onesimus departed for a season so Philemon could receive him forever as a brother, that illustrates how Israel departed from God for a season so God could receive her forever in the kingdom.  They “departed” in Acts 28:28,29 and their “receiving” will come in their kingdom (Ro. 11:15).

Paul can’t be saying Onesimus ran away so he could return to Philemon for ever.  And he can’t be saying Philemon let him run away so he could return forever.  No, it was God who wanted him to leave so he could get saved (I Tim. 2:4).  But we have to be careful, for God says servants should obey their masters, not run from them (Eph. 6:5), so running away is a sin, and God never makes anyone sin.

But God knows how to use men’s sins to accomplish His will.  God didn’t make Joseph’s brethren sin by selling him into slavery, but when He saw they hated him (Gen. 37:4) He gave him a dream saying he’d rule them, making them hate him enough to sell him (Gen. 37:8).  That’s how Joseph could say God sent him into slavery (Gen. 45:7,8), using His Word in a dream.  They just reacted sinfully to His Word.

And God used His word to get Onesimus to run away, His word through Philemon.  He was a faithful Christian (Phile. 1:4-6), so was no doubt witnessing to Onesimus.  He just resented hearing it from his high and mighty master, so reacted sinfully to it.  But when he heard the gospel from Paul, someone beneath him in prison, he believed it.

So why does Paul say “perhaps” that’s what happened?  Because there was an element of chance involved.  God could make Onesimus want to run by giving him His word, but he couldn’t make him run 1200 miles to Rome and bump into Paul.  The “hap” part of perhaps means something hap-pened to happen (Ruth 2:3) by chance (II Sam. 1:6).  There’s such a thing as chance—luck (Ecc. 9:11).  Moses believed in it (Deut. 22:6), as did the Lord (Lu. 10:31).  God is not orchestrating our every move, He gave us free will.

So Paul is telling Philemon not to look at it as his slave running away, but to look at it all as God using sin and His Word and chance to “work together” for good (Ro. 8:28).

God also works through His people though.  If Philemon didn’t forgive Onesimus, then all those things wouldn’t work together for good.  It all comes down to you.  If you’re not happy with your life, begin to obey God’s Word through Paul.

Berean Searchlight – September 2018

Posted on by kevin

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An Apostle According to the Truth

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“Paul…an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to…the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness” (Tit. 1:1).

There’s a reason why Paul says he was made an apostle according to “the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.”  It is because if you’re after godliness in your life, that is, if godliness is your life’s goal, you need to follow the truth that is after godliness.

Now, the truth that is after godliness used to be the Law of Moses.  Under the Law, if you kept the sabbath, and kept Israel’s seven feasts, and didn’t eat unclean foods, and did all the other things the Law demanded of you, you were godly.  But the Law is not the truth that makes men godly in the dispensation of grace, and Paul was made an apostle to get men to acknowledge that dispensational change.

The word acknowledge means to admit that something is true—usually something that you don’t want to admit is true!  For instance, no one likes to acknowledge it when they’ve sinned against God (cf. Hos. 5:15), and many people don’t like to admit that the Law is no longer the truth that makes men godly either.  Here at Berean Bible Society, we often hear from people who tell us that we are not godly because we don’t insist that men keep the sabbath (cf. Col. 2:16), and because we don’t call food that God has cleansed unclean (Acts 10:15).  Those things used to constitute godliness under the Law, but they don’t under grace!

Godliness today doesn’t consist of resting on the sabbath, it consists of resting in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the cross!  The sabbath was just a type, a symbol, of such rest.  Godliness today also no longer consists of viewing certain foods as unclean. The only reason it was godly under the Law to view certain foods as unclean was because under the Law certain people were unclean—the Gentiles (Lev. 20:24,25 cf. Acts 10:15,28).  So godliness today consists of recognizing that we have the liberty to eat foods that were once unclean because we recognize that Gentiles are no longer unclean in God’s sight.

In addition, while observing Israel’s feasts made a man godly under the Law, godliness today understands that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law’s seven feasts.  “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7), so there is no need for us to keep the feast of passover.  And because Christ our passover is sacrificed for us, “we have now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:11), so we don’t have to observe the Day of Atonement either.

In short, “the truth which is after godliness” has undergone a dispensational change from what it was under the Law to what it is today under grace.  And Paul was made an apostle to get men to acknowledge that dispensational change.  If you will acknowledge it, I guarantee it will revolutionize your Christian life, and make you eternally glad you did!

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Two Minutes with the Bible lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

Paul the Beggar – Philemon 10-12

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Summary:

Onesimus’s name was a Greek word that meant profitable, so he was most likely a Gentile.  Jews like Paul (Phil. 3:5) hated Gentiles and called them dogs, but Paul called Onesimus “my son.”  The answer to racial tension is getting people saved and helping them to grow in grace!

It is popular in grace circles to say that members of the Body of Christ are not born again, but Paul says he had “begotten” Onesimus (1:10).  This is significant in that the purpose of the book of Philemon isn’t to teach grace doctrines, it is to illustrate them, and the new birth is illustrated here.

“Time past” and “but now” (1:11) should make you think of Ephesians 2:11-13.  Onesimus was profitable as a servant to Philemon.  Remember, his name means profitable. But when he ran away, he became unprofitable.  This illustrates how the Gentiles were profitable to God when they brought Him pleasure (Rev.4:11) but became “unprofitable” (Rom. 3:12).

Under Roman Law, Philemon could have Onesimus executed for running away.  That illustrates what God could have done with the Gentiles when they became unprofitable servants (Mt.25:30).  Instead He was merciful to them (Tit.3:3-5).  And Paul is asking Philemon to treat Onesimus as God treated him as a Gentile when he was unprofitable and be merciful.  That’s what Christianity is all about!

Ask an unbeliever, or even most Christians, the best way to treat others, and they’ll quote the Golden Rule (Mt.7:12).  The Lord was alluding to the old covenant of the Law (Lev. 19:18) and the law was glorious, but new covenant grace exceeds in glory (II Cor. 3:6-9) because it says to treat others as God has already treated you.

The word “again” (1:12) means back, as in Exodus 15:19 and Hebrews 13:20.  Paul didn’t have to send Onesimus back to his master twice!

But why would Paul send a slave back to his master?  Under the Law you weren’t supposed to do that (Deut. 23:15).  If you’re thinking you wouldn’t send a runaway slave back, would you give him the best spot on your land to live (v.16)?

This was high spiritual ground!  We know the Gentile nations weren’t doing that, for a runaway slave begged David not to send him back to his master (I Sam. 30:15).

So why did Paul send Onesimus back?  He knew we are not under law, but under grace (Rom. 6:15).  The book of Philemon doesn’t teach that, it illustrates it.

When Paul instead returned Onesimus, that illustrated another grace doctrine, for Paul was obeying Roman law, and believers today are supposed to obey the laws of our country as well (Titus 3:1).

If you’re thinking we’re supposed to obey the government unless they tell us to do something wrong, and returning a slave to his master is wrong, it’s because you think slavery is evil.  We know it isn’t because God allowed His people to own them (Lev. 25:44,45).  There were legitimate reasons why people were slaves.  If they ran up too much debt, they had to work as slaves to pay it off (II Ki. 4:1).  But the slavery that we had in the United States was evil (Exodus 21:16).

When Paul says he “sent” Onesimus (1:12) instead of dragging him, that illustrates a tremendous doctrine of grace.  Once Onesimus left Paul behind, he didn’t have to go where Paul sent him.  But salvation had made him not care about being a slave (I Cor. 7:21).  That illustrates the power of grace

Grace can show you how to not care that you’re in the prison that you are in.  What grace? Onesimus learned that there are no slaves in Christ, we are all equal (I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28).  He focused on seeing himself as God saw him, and stopped focusing on his difficult circumstances.  Grace can make you care not about your circumstances as well if you do the same.  When Paul tells Philemon to receive Onesimus as his own bowels (1:12), he meant to receive him as Paul’s own biological son (cf. II Sam. 16:11).  That illustrates how God receives us as His own Son (Eph. 1:6), and how we should receive one another the same way (Rom. 15:7).